Aunt Sadie

Before he died my Uncle Lloyd Lawry put together a collection of stories and family history. I was blessed to have been given a copy of his collection. This is the story he wrote about Aunt Sadie.

Aunt Sadie 

by Lloyd Lawry

Aunt Sadie, Grandpa and Grandma Lawry's first child was born March 20, 1887, and died December 24, 1973.

As the family was desperately poor, she had to have a job as soon as she was able to find one. At that time a High School Graduate could go to "Normal School" for six weeks and qualify to teach school. Aunt Sadie did this and started teaching school in 1905. She probably got $40 a month for teaching a one room school which could consist of all grades, 1 through 8.

We have a school directory for 1925-1926 which shows her salary at $65 a month for the 8-month term.

By 1910 she was able to have the house on the oId home farm remodeled to a five-room cottage. It remained until the place was sold after her death.

She always worked very hard but expected everyone else to work hard too on jobs she wanted to be done around the farm. She raised chickens and kept cows, selling eggs and cream. She always made poor Grandma work so hard that the family was upset with her. Daddy always dreaded going to see her as she always had a hard job for him to do.

She was a life-long spinster, but apparently she fell in love with a young man in Western Kansas while cooking for a farmer one summer. He was to come to Bronson in the fall and marry her, but it is thought the farmer, she had cooked for, turned him against her and he never came. She was always bitter toward men after that.

She taught school until she couldn't get a position because she couldn't play the piano. She was always bitter about that too.

She had a heavy portion of the Lawry pessimism and depression. If one of her hens died, she would say, "all of my chickens are dying."

She lived alone after Grandma died and finally went to a nursing home where she died. She was mad at her brothers and sister because none of them would take care of her instead of sending her to the nursing home. None of them wanted to put up with her bitter, pessimistic personality.

She left all of her possessions except some furniture to George N. Lawry's boys. She left the furniture and personal possessions to the Ermel girls, Mary's children. Uncle Johnnie was bitter about that.

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Sadie Lawry, in the back seat behind the driver, owned a Motel T Ford and drove it weekly to Bronson, Kansas from her home southwest of town. Edward Swink was a mechanic in town and kept her car tuned to perfection. She asked him to drive it for the Governor's Day Parade in 1965. Bill Avery, Kansas Governor, and his wife, Hazel, are also in the photo.


For more of Uncle Lloyd's Scrapbook, click here.